1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a roasting apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a roasting apparatus that includes both a roasting rack and a roasting pan in which the roasting rack is suspended from handle bosses above a roasting pan bottom.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally available roasting pans and roasting racks are often ill suited to convenient and safe user operation. Conventional roasting racks are designed to operate with a variety of roasting pan sizes and shapes and consequently only loosely fit within the roasting pan. Conventional roasting rack and roasting pan designs do not adequately consider the safety aspects of roasting and basting operations.
Where conventional racks do not securely fit with in conventional roasting pans, the racks can slide relative to the pan itself during use, cleaning, and removal or entry into a hot oven. The loose fit and subsequent sliding can cause unexpected weight shifts and possible injury through contact with a hot roasting pan, hot roasting rack, or the hot food itself. Lose fit may also allow the roasting rack to shift relative to the roasting pan during oven insertion, resulting in uneven heat distribution and possible burning. Loose fit may further allow a conventional roasting rack to slide and scrape the surface of a roasting pan, causing damage to the roasting pan and degradation to a non-stick surface.
Conventional roasting pans also have legs that support the roasting rack above a roasting pan bottom. These conventional legs cause substantial difficulty during rack movement by scraping a pan bottom or breaking and bending resulting in uneven roast placement and danger to an operator. Roasting rack legs also interfere during basting by blocking smooth user access to any hot grease or liquids in the bottom of the roasting pan. During basting, operators frequently raise one side of a roasting pan, allowing the hot grease or liquids to roll to the opposite side for easy pick up in a baster. This sideways basting movement also shifts the roasting rack causing the scraping problems noted above.
During use, as an operator lifts the roasting rack from the roasting pan, the pan legs frequently catch the rim of the roasting pan, cause rack or pan tipping, and possibly cause the hot food to slide around the rack.
Conventional roasting rack legs are often physically weak and extend from portions of the roasting rack by a single weld. With the physical contact and lateral stress noted above pan legs are frequently the weakest link in rack design and break or bend rendering the rack dangerous or useless.
Conventional roasting rack legs also cause damage or staining to counter surfaces after removal form the roasting pan. During repeated operation, roasting rack legs can develop sharp edges or loose a portion of their chrome finish leaving a sharp edge. These sharp edges can scrape laminate and solid-surface counter materials and can damage a polished surface on stone or concrete counter materials. As the roasting rack legs are often covered with grease or fluid residue that has dripped to the bottom of the roasting pan, upon removal, the residue commonly drips from leg bottoms, which act as fluid flow stress concentrators. Since the roasting residue can stain natural counter materials, kitchen floors, and operator clothing, it would be beneficial to remove this risk all together.
Finally, conventional roasting rack legs may become stuck in overcooked or burned-on residue in the base of the roasting pan further increasing operator safety risk and damage to the roasting rack.
Conventional roasting racks have two handles that are positioned perpendicular to a long axis of the roasting rack. This conventional handle placement interferes with user access to roasting pan handles, makes it difficult to grip the handles with thermal protection, and increases the risk of tipping a roast from the roasting rack.
In summary, the problems of commercially available roasting pans and roasting racks include:                1. Sharp legs on a roasting rack provide uneven support, scratch non-stick pan surfaces, catch on pan sides during removal, interfere with basting, increase thermal variability, damage counter surfaces after removal, and stick to residue at the bottom of a roasting pan interfering with removal risking operator safety.        2. Poorly positioned handles, specifically handles perpendicular to a long rack-edge, increase risk of tipping during use, are small and difficult to handle with thermal hand protection, and are inappropriate for high-weight roasting situations where lifting is awkward.        3. Poorly designed racks that move or slip relative to a pan rim during oven positioning and basting operations damage pan walls and create hot-spots where a roast shifts and contacts the pan, and risk operator injury during oven insertion/extraction.        